The "it's a secret" approach is the worst. I know people who got flunked in their driving tests by an instructor sitting in stony silence and refusing to tell them what they got wrong.

I have that LEGO clown. Somewhere. I just realized I don't know where it's gotten to... shit. No way to ensure it's not in the same room in which I sleep.

I've seen what these go for ('63 Ranchero here): You probably couldn't buy all the Frontenac-specific trim parts for that (definitely not + that continental kit) so even if there's not much car (which there is), this is way NP for whichever insane bastard must have a Frontenac.

I love low-end cars. I love what low-end cars used to be. There was once an honest dignity about a cheap car that made it useful, easy to maintain, and classless. I love exposed screw heads and easily visible seams on things because that means if something needs tweaking or fixing, you can actually figure out what…

Is he really bitching about seeing a visible seam? Was he under the illusion that the car was hand-carved out of one perfect aged piece of wormwood by a Swiss craftsman? Is he the fucking Sultan Of Luxuristan, so refined and cultured he can't have his eyes violated by the sight of a seam?

Yep, laptop bag is a personal item - of course, it was at that time quite full/large. I'm just basing things on the standard that if I was about at the limits of what I could carry and got on, it's incongruous if the violinist wasn't and didn't.

I had the uku, a laptop bag, *and* a carryon, *and* a jacket on that flight, IIRC. No fucks were given. Perhaps at the US Airways gates in Frankfurt, there aren't any to *be* given.

I find this whole thing very odd, as I carried a Yamaha ukulele on a US Airways flight as recently as three years ago without issue. Unusually jackass gate operator and pilot, I guess.

Shit, you're onto me.

Subaru bros. Seriously. Subaru bros. No, I shouldn't have bought a car that'll done blow'd up the second I forget the check the oil at a trackday. Nope nope nope nope go away nope. "Subaru" is not always the answer for many, many fantastic reasons, and the royal pain of getting to simple parts around the engine is…

I'm holding out for a rebirth of the Reatta.

Anyone saying "it's leaking oil again" about *any* Land-Rover is just making conversation. It's the equivalent of saying "nice day": arguably true >80% of the time, depending on definition and degree.

Ugly, heavy, and outdated by choice, mofo.

I know, right? Armored 109 +A/C + other weight + squad of men: egad.

"Hubbard air con unit" - from the ad. It's a nice plus. '79 isn't that unpossible, particularly with it being an enclosed box for a police squad. No good way otherwise to cool 8-10 men, I'm not surprised at all they jumped for it.

It's listed in the ad, and there's certainly room for it. I've never seen a Series with A/C, but it'd be a pretty easy fit, so I'm not surprised at all. A/C as an add-on kit for even things like Jeeps was available back into the 60s, and the heaters for these are already one of several add-on setups (from the Canadian…

The D90, due to trans shape and other anomalies, has a very very long bellhousing, and a long clutch throw setup. I don't think it's very good in general where actuating is concerned. Which is funny, because there's no real reason for the clutch itself to give trouble - it's a 10.4" that's pretty much…

Were it a MOD Landie, it probably would have been - I guess the civvie ministries got to order whatever the hell they wanted. That being said, even with somewhat reduced torque at some Rs, the increased friskiness of the gas engine would be welcome here.

It is not possible this thing is able to get out of its own way. 2.25 gas engine + armor makes for... lumbering a bit. That's even before you count the A/C, which, if on = holy shit. That being said, anyone trying to go places fast in an armored Series III needs their head examined, and this has lots of cool bits you…

So I see. Thus making it (at the end of the day) kind of a two cockpit improved P-38 in a way. Also, undoing the change that had made the P-51 a world-beater - the jump to a Merlin from an Allison.